Following Bubba's trade secrets, and wow, did the dough turn out wonderful! Stuck my balls (made 2 from each Bubba batch) into 1 gallon plastic bags, sealed them, and popped them in my fridge at the lowest possible temperature.

Checked in them 8 hours laters, and they're huge! Over twice as big! And the bags looked ready to *burst* with gas!

So I unsealed and let the excess air out, but they're still pretty big. Is that normal? I won't be making the pizzas until tomorrow night (New Year's Eve Pizza Fest!) but I'm hoping nothing is wrong. Nothing smelled funny when I popped the bags open.

Thanks everyone!

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“There's a pizza place near where I live that sells only slices. In the back you can see a guy tossing a triangle in the air.” - Steven Wright

It seems to have settled down... I though about the plastic wrap idea... but then thought it might rip if it expanded too much?

Hoping it all comes out ok tonight! I'll post pics tomorrow!

I went with the Escalona Allegro pizza sauce... I'm hoping that's not my downfall. Got some decent shredded whole milk mozzarella and smoked provolone from Roundy's for $1.79 per 8oz bag... crossing my fingers on those as well.

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“There's a pizza place near where I live that sells only slices. In the back you can see a guy tossing a triangle in the air.” - Steven Wright

Ok... my first pizzamaking.com pizza making experience was a great success. A couple of lessons learned...

#1 - Learn how to toss. Preferably before your first attempt. My biggest regret was not fully realizing how to manipulate the dough properly... I tried using my hands to stretch it out as spinning on the countertop, but it wasn't working. The dough would retract too quickly, collect too much flour on the ends, begin folding under itself, just not good. My attempts at spinning were fun, but resulted in a crazy oval shaped dough. Ugh.

#2 - Buy a pizza stone (or quarry tiles). I wasn't quite satisfied with the crust "doneness" without them. That said, reheating the pizza the next dough resulted in an incredibly crisp bottom while the middle (where the sauce hits the crust) was yummy chewy. Best next day pizza I've *ever* had!

#3 - Go with 6 in 1 versus Allegro. Not that I've tried 6 in 1 yet, but for $.50 more a can, I'm trying that next. Allegro wasn't bad, but it wasn't that great either. It was just there.

#4 - Better cheese. As I mentioned, Roundy's Premium whole milk shredded Mozzarella was on sale for $1.79 per 8oz bag. It was fine. Just not memorable. When I think of all the great pizzeria pizzas I've had, the cheese is so important. Smoky, salty, buttery... it's got flavor. The Roundy's had the right consistency, but lacked in punch.

#5 - Better seasonings. Since the cheese and sauce were somewhat bland, and the crust was pretty bland too, I'd like to experiment with more seasonings. I started sprinkling on the aged Parmesan and assorted herbs (oregano, basil) on the final few pies, that helped, but I think I need some garlic too.

Ok... things that worked...

#1 - Sautéing the onions, green peppers and mushrooms before topping. Oh, YUM. I sautéed these up with butter and olive oil and spread handfuls across my deluxe pizzas before layering on the sausage. Maybe I add some garlic there? They were SO TASTY!

#2 - Pizza screens. These guys worked great. $3.99 each at GFS. Perfect.

#3 - Bob Evans Italian Sausage. Yeah, it comes in a tube. But Bob Evans makes the *best* breakfast sausage, so I gave their Italian a whirl. Not spicy by any stretch of the imagination, but very flavorful. And crazy cheap.

#4 - Reheating. As I mentioned above, reheating the next day was UN-FREAKIN'-BELIEVABLE. All the flavors came together, the crust was phenomenal, mmmmmmmm

Next up, I've been reading the Home Run Inn recipes... I really want a flavorful butter crust. Bubba's crust was good, but not as much flavor as I like. I'm a Chicago boy. I want a crust (Home Run Inn, Lou Malnati's) that takes my breath away. Some of the pan recipes, that cook up in a wealth of oil, also pique my interest...

Pizza on!

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“There's a pizza place near where I live that sells only slices. In the back you can see a guy tossing a triangle in the air.” - Steven Wright

This is great news Stephen, Congrats on your first! They are usually memorable in one way or the other....sounds like you did good and learned a lot. Keep up the excellent work and give up some pics next time man! A very popular way to reheat is in a frying/saute pan...I tent it with a piece of foil. Almost turns the slice into a totally different experience. Really great method. Bob

What would you recommend as a Chicago thin crust lovers thin crust? Home Run Inn *is* my favorite, but do you see what I mean in the difference between Chicago and NY? I liked Bubba's crust, best I've made yet at home (and incredibly simple if you watch his videos), but something was lacking. I'm thinking... butter...

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“There's a pizza place near where I live that sells only slices. In the back you can see a guy tossing a triangle in the air.” - Steven Wright

HRI is a great pizza and I enjoy them once in awhile. But for a traditional Chicago thin pizza I would suggest you check out/forum search member Loo Waters. "Garvy" does an excellent job also among others.Bob

I have a tweaked Loo Waters emergency that turns out real well if your're interested. Do you have a cutter pan Stephen?